HB2296 • 2026

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: NAKAMURA (Introduced by request of another party)
Last action: 2026-04-24
Official status: Transmitted to Governor.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.
DOE; School Cafeteria Meals; Costs Requires the Department of Education to charge not less than one-quarter of the cost of preparing a school meal for each school meal.
(SD2)

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB2296 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2296 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2296 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB2296 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2296 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2296 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

SD2

Hawaii published version SD2

Plain English: HB2296 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB2296 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
2296 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

Bill History

2026-04-27 S
Received notice of House agreement and passage on Final Reading (Hse. Com. No. 824).
2026-04-24 H
Transmitted to Governor.
2026-04-24 H
Passed Final Reading as amended in SD 2 with Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia, Gedeon voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Kapela excused (1).
2026-04-24 H
House agrees to Senate amendment(s).
2026-04-24 S
Received notice of House reconsideration of action in disagreeing to the amendments proposed by the Senate (Hse. Com. No. 822).
2026-04-23 H
Reconsideration of action taken on 04-16-26.
2026-04-17 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).
2026-04-16 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2026-04-14 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 676) in amended form (SD 2).
2026-04-14 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-09 S
48 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26.
2026-04-09 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3676) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).
2026-04-06 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
2026-04-01 S
The committee(s) on WAM deferred the measure until 04-06-26 10:31AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-30 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-30 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-01-26 10:03AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-30 S
Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3391) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-25 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Fukunaga.
2026-03-20 S
The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-25-26 1:12PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to EDU, WAM.
2026-03-10 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 200).
2026-03-06 H
Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 954-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-04 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Alcos; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-03-02 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Wednesday, 03-04-26 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-17 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lee, M., Poepoe excused (3).
2026-02-17 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 316-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2026-02-10 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2026-02-06 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Tuesday, 02-10-26 2:15PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-30 H
Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 5
2026-01-28 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-26 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.
DOE; School Cafeteria Meals; Costs
Requires the Department of Education to charge not less than one-quarter of the cost of preparing a school meal for each school meal. (SD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2296

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2296

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that Hawaii's working families face significant economic
challenges, including the rising cost of living, inflationary pressures, and
limited affordable options for basic needs.
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Access to nutritious meals is essential for students' academic success
and overall well-being.
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However, the
increasing cost of school meals may create challenges for many families and
contrubite to lower student participation in school meal programs.

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The legislature further finds that
encouraging more students to participate in school meal programs is crucial for
promoting equity, ensuring students have access to healthy food, and fostering
an environment conducive to learning.
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By
reducing the financial burden on families, the State can help mitigate the
impacts of economic hardship and support the health and academic achievement of
Hawaii's keiki.

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The purpose of this Act is to reduce the
minimum revenue requirement for the department of education from the sale of
school meals from one-half to one-quarter of the cost of preparing the meals,
thereby making school meals more affordable for families and encouraging
greater student participation in school meal programs.

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SECTION 2.
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Section 302A-405, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending
subsection (a) to read as follows:

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"(a)
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The price for school meals shall be set by the department to ensure that
moneys received from the sale of the meals shall be not less than [
one-half
]

one-quarter
of the cost of preparing the meals.
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The prices for school meals may be adjusted
annually based on the previous year's costs rounded to the nearest five cents;
provided that the department by rule shall provide a lower rate or free meals
to children based on their economic need."

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SECTION 3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST

Report Title:

DOE; School Meals; Student Prices

Description:

Reduces the minimum revenue requirement that the
Department of Education must recover through school meal charges in department
schools.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.